Young rower’s success recognised

THE accolades have continued for sixteen-year-old rower Eliza Oxley, awarded a Bendigo Sports Star scholarship for July.

In June, the year 10 Girton Grammar School student received the Hannah Every-Hall Award, given to the Bendigo Rowing Club’s most promising female sculler.

Oxley has competed in events all over the state and won gold at last year’s School Sport Victoria regatta.

“Going to the school states for rowing and just rowing with the girls and doing different regattas has been pretty cool because we go for a weekend and stay together in a house and it’s fun,” she said.

With preparations underway for the Dimboola Regatta in November and Hamilton Regatta in December, Oxley training at home during a lockdown is not such a foreign concept to her.

“I’ve got an ergo [rowing machine] at home so it’s quite easy and we just do the Zoom calls and stuff,” she said.

“I’ve always had an ergo at home so I always did a session at home anyway. I live so far away from Bendigo so I was used to training by myself, I was already in the routine of doing it.”

Her goals for the upcoming competitions are to “just improve and get a couple medals along the way.”

The humble rower said she owes a lot of her success to her parents and will be sharing the money awarded to her as part of the scholarship with them.

“I’m really grateful. I’ve got three other siblings as well so they spend a lot of time in the car but I’m really grateful they can drive me around,” she said.